[closed] stay green a little while

[ordinar]

Who: Wilhelm & miscellaneous
When: throughout July and August
Where: Horizon, Thorne
What: Catchall for sad boy summer
Warnings: will be updated as needed


Closed starters to follow. Maybe some open ones if I'm feeling saucy. :)

Comments

[ordinar]

Thancred's miming apparently passes muster, as recognition lights Wilhelm's expression. His initial thought is that this guy absolutely looks like someone who would find bards an adequate source of entertainment.

"Oh, yeah. Nice to see you again." Then a sheepish sort of wince. "I mean, talk to you."

He keeps an eye on the fire still burning in his palm. It's a strange sensation, all the warmth directly against his skin and none of the sharpness that comes with being singed. Inhabiting stillness is another thing he's still getting used to. His hand prickles with the urge to fidget, but even the smallest movements affect the flame he's produced.

"I haven't set any more beds on fire, if you're wondering."

Other things, though...

[funbreaker]

Thancred nods at the greeting, not begrudging Wilhelm's difficulty with how to describe that means of communication. At this point it seems like the Summoned should decide on an official name for it, but that's hardly at the top of anyone's priority list.

He notes how still Wilhelm is being and almost wonders if he should leave him to it, but part of practice should include learning how to maintain that flame while carrying on a conversation with someone. And thus, after a moment of consideration, Thancred moves to take a seat across from Wilhelm, sweeping his coat out behind him as he settles.

"Well, that's progress then," he acknowledges with a grin. "Though I can only imagine it wouldn't be the first time such a tragedy has occurred here." There are plenty of training mages, even outside of the Summoned.

"I can't give you much advice, I'm afraid. Magick is not my forte, to say the least. But you have had no shortage of capable mentors, I imagine."

[ordinar]

He didn't expect Thancred to join him, though in retrospect it was an obvious next step. It's not that Wilhelm doesn't want to talk, it's just that floundering through conversation adds a degree of difficulty to the already demanding task of minding his flame. He could dismiss it, but that part has given him more trouble, and having an audience all but guarantees that his attempt will flop.

"That's okay. I've already gotten advice from a lot of different people."

Just as Thancred imagined. Brow furrowed in concentration, he watches the tongue of flame dancing in his hand.

"Seems like magic is a little different everywhere. Like it follows different rules. I'm just trying to figure out what works for me."

The sigh here confirms that it's been a slog. After a beat, he thinks to ask, "What is your forte, then?"

[funbreaker]

At Wilhelm's observation about magick's properties and how it seems to differ from place to place, Thancred draws up a fist to rest under his chin in thought.

"That does make sense. I imagine the nature of the star that each magick-user hails from informs how it would be wielded there." Hopefully that doesn't mean that Wilhelm is overwhelmed with instructions, some which might even contradict each other.

Practice will help, much like with any other skill.

When the question is turned back around on him, Thancred turns his head, nodding to the hilt of a weapon that pokes up above his shoulder. "Currently I use a gunblade, though prior to that I was quite handy with a pair of knives." That isn't even touching on his true skillset, but he isn't going to announce that he's a spy in the middle of the castle.

He does send Wilhelm a cheeky wink, though. "Among other things."

[ordinar]

"What's a gunblade?" he blurts out. His gaze bounces up from the flame in his hand to the man sitting across from him.

There were probably several more intelligent options for responses, but...he's stuck on the mental image of a dagger mashed together with a handgun. Or a sword sticking out of an old-fashioned musket like a bayonet. His imagination is busy engineering options.

[funbreaker]

This is becoming a pattern here, to the point that Thancred is starting to wonder if he should simply explain it to start with, rather than assuming any of the other Summoned are going to know.

"More or less what it sounds like," he says, letting out a small sigh as he reaches behind his back to grip the hilt and pull the blade from its place there. He draws it forward and rests it on his lap, granting Wilhelm a decent view of it. As promised, it's a sword-like weapon, yet it has the barrel and handle of a gun attached to it as well.

"It takes magically-imbued cartridges. Not that I have an unending supply of those, so most often my training is with the blade part of it."

[ordinar]

He may not know shit about either guns or swords, but that doesn't prevent him from running an appreciative look along the weapon Thancred produces.

"Cool, it looks like something you'd find in a video game."

Which is clearly a compliment.

It does fray the thread of his concentration. The flame flickers, stretching for the grass that lies dangerously within reach. Cursing under his breath, Wilhelm lifts his hand higher and channels his focus into the...something crackling faintly within.

[funbreaker]

There is something like awe in Wilhelm's voice, so Thancred can gather that being like "something you'd find in a video game" is in fact a great honor. Even if he doesn't quite understand why. His brow knits.

"The only video game I've seen is that carting one," he admits, a brief reference back to their first conversation. "I take it that they cover a variety of genres?"

His gaze does shift to the flame as it looks for a moment like it might catch onto the nearby grass, but Wilhelm manages to pull it back just in time. Thancred nods in approval.

"Close one, but you got it." Which means that this does count as good practice for the lad.